RDR2: Should Your Next Playthrough Be Good Or Bad Honor? (2024)

When looking to do a second playthrough of Rockstar's cowboy classic Red Dead Redemption 2, the honor system should be on players' minds as they determine whether Arthur Morgan will be good or bad. Deciding on a morally upstanding outlaw who does bad for good reasons or a heartless killer who revels in the crimes he commits is the key choice here. Each has its benefits (though one side vastly outweighs the other), and must be considered when starting up the game and journeying into Colter for the second time around.

The honor system is one of two original Red Dead Redemption systems that made the game stand out. The other, the Fame system, was sadly left on the cutting room floor when the sequel was being made (though its loss wasn't felt too much). Performing certain actions, such as saving a stage coach from bandits, shows why Arthur should always be nice to people in RDR2 and will raise Arthur Morgan's honor level. By contrast, robbing that same stage coach will lower it. Each end of the honor spectrum comes with its own benefits and drawbacks, however.

High Honor & Low Honor Rewards In RDR2

Is Low Or High Honor Best?

When determining whether to do a second run with high or low honor in Red Dead Redemption 2, weighing the pros and cons of each will help make the decision leagues easier. High Honor leads to reduced prices in shops, more outfits to buy, and better loot from enemies. However, Low Honor leads to more loot from enemies, this time loot geared toward causing mayhem (such as deadeye tonics and the like). When starting up the second playthrough, leaning to one side or the other will drastically alter how the world treats the game's protagonist.

RDR2's High Honor Yields High Rewards

The Benefits Of A High Honor Playthrough

Playing through Red Dead Redemption 2 as an honorable gentleman yields many enticing rewards. The lower ranks give minor improvements to quality of life, such as looting better tonics off of dead bodies and an 10% discount in shops, which is useful for those early-game arsenal upgrades. Ranking up honor in RDR2 even further boosts the quality of looted tonics and gives access to new outfits to purchase from general stores or clothiers, outfits befitting a man of honorable stature. Eventually, the discount in shops is increased to 25%, and even more outfits are unlocked. Reaching +7 Honor will unlock a whopping 50% discount in stores, and reaching the maximum honor unlocks a trophy/achievement (though this can also be unlocked by going as low honor in RDR2 as possible).

The pros here are easy to see. An honorable Arthur gets bonuses to looted supplies, more realistic RDR2 clothes for Arthur, and a gradually building discount at every shop in the game, reflecting his heroism and good nature. Given what happens to Arthur over the course of RDR2's story, a high honor Arthur does tend to make the most sense.

Being Good In RDR2 Is Harder Than Being Bad

The Drawbacks Of A High Honor Playthrough

Being good in Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't meant to be easy, or else everyone would do it. Often the acts that build honor, such as assisting settlers and stage-coachers as they fend off robberies and giving money to the poor, put Arthur at an inconvenience. Be it his pocketbook or his life, something is always in danger or being lessened by giving to others.

In order to achieve maximum honor in RDR2, and therefore the maximum rewards, Arthur will have to give an inordinate amount of time, money, and blood. Whether it is by donating money to the Van Der Linde camp or helping strangers in need, some sacrifices will be required. While this may come naturally to more heroic players, some may balk at having their gameplay detracted by these acts of daring do and prefer to let the settlers fend off the wolves or bandits themselves, saving their precious hides and ammunition for their own pursuits.

Low Honor Gives Worse Rewards In RDR2

The Benefits Of A Low Honor Playthrough

Being bad in Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't all it's cracked up to be when it comes to the rewards. At the basic level of dishonor, the drop rate of Dead Eye tonics is increased, as are alcohol, tobacco, and throwing weapons. Dead Lawmen also seem to be more flush with jewelry to take. Delving further down into dishonor yields no further rewards, although one mission changes depending on Arthur's honor level.

Red Dead Redemption 2 seems to be sending a message about crime not paying, even when some of the biggest payouts in the game come from criminal activity. In terms of in-game impact, a low-honor playthrough sees Arthur's story mostly unchanged, save for some minor boosts to drop rates. Thus, if players are looking for more of a challenging run, or don't want the assistance that high honor gives, it may be worth keeping low honor in RDR2.

Low Honor Can Save Arthur's Skin In Red Dead Redemption 2

Why Low Honor Is Easier

That being said, any RDR2 replay, sad though it may be, will be made much easier by not having to risk life and limb for every random passerby that spawns - and the wild west of Red Dead Redemption 2 is surprisingly full of residents in distress. Players will be able to focus on the main missions and any strangers they encounter (provided those strangers don't up their honor with their missions), without having to give more than a passing glance at some random person whose horse died or a group of settlers being attacked by wolves.

On a low honor playthrough of RDR2, ammo can be saved for, as Dutch puts it, "those that need killing," instead of every bandit in the land. Bounty hunting missions can prove to be some of the most repetitive, boring slogs in the game - with a few notable exceptions - and can be safely skipped without a care knowing that Arthur's honor will remain untainted by the spot of good they would have brought.

A Good Honor Playthrough Works Better For Red Dead Redemption 2's Story

And Results In A More Satisfying Ending For Arthur Morgan

[WARNING: The following section contains spoilers for Red Dead Redemption 2.]Aside from the various rewards, Red Dead Redemption 2's honor does have some impact on the story, albeit a somewhat minor one with regard to its implications on the overall narrative. Ultimately, the main story's beats, such as protagonist Arthur Morgan's doomed fate, will happen regardless of how the game is played, as players are still forced into key story situations that will see the character catching Tuburculosis or the Van der Linde gang falling apart. However, the ending of Arthur's tale does vary slightly depending on his honor.

A high honor ending sees him dying whilst succumbing to his illness and battle wounds while watching the sunset but knowing he's done what he can to help members of the Van der Linde gang such as Sadie Adler or the Marston family escape, giving him a more redemptive arc overall. Meanwhile, a low honor ending sees him die at the hands of the traitorous Micah Bell. While he still dies regardless of players' honor levels, this ending feels far less satisfying.

Playing through the story with high honor makes the build up to Arthur's ending feel more natural and earned, and plays into the themes of redemption present in the game as it feels like Arthur is truly trying to change his ways before succumbing to his fate. Therefore, when first playing through the story, a high honor playthrough is better to get a more coherent experience with its core story moments.

Ultimately, when going through a second playthrough of Red Dead Redemption 2 where spoilers don't matter, the choice of high honor or low honor remains in the hands of the players, though each has its pros and cons. Higher honor runs will give players easier times when scrounging money for weapon modifications and new clothes, but will have to be paid for through being a vigilante half the game.

Having low honor in RDR2 removes that pesky vigilantism in favor of a more streamlined approach, though the nice bonuses from high honor will remain forever out of reach. Ultimately, if Red Dead Redemption 2 players want an easier second playthrough so that they can explore more of the game and feel less stressed about managing money and supplies, high honor is the way to go. But for those looking for a challenge, or to indulge their baser outlaw fantasies, low honor certainly provides.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Action

Adventure

Franchise

Platform(s)

PS4 , Xbox One , PC , Stadia

Developer(s)

Rockstar Games

Publisher(s)

Rockstar Games

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Publishers